The present invention relates in general to compound tools capable of cutting and sawing operations, as desired, by the user, and more particularly to a drywall cutting tool having a blade provided with a penetrating pointed tip and having a sharpened cutting edge section along one edge thereof and a sawing edge along the other edge thereof, especially adapted for cutting drywall panels to provide shaped openings therein and trimming of edge portions to desired configurations.
Heretofore, cutting tools customarily used for cutting dry wall panels to desired configurations during installation of the drywall have involved blades which taper from point to handle and are relatively long, and have been found to be subject to frequent bending during use. Also, the length of such customarily used cutting tools for drywalls in such that the user sometimes unintentionally pierces drywall which may be located behind the drywall being cut, thus damaging already installed drywall panels. Furthermore, injury to the user's hand has occurred when the hand unintentionally slips during use of the conventional drywall cutting tools and obtaining sufficiently secure holding grip on the handle without slippage has been difficult to achieve. Additionally, when the blade of such conventional tools becomes dull, it must be withdrawn from service to be sharpened, and if it has already been sharpened a number of times, such that further sharpening would misshapen the blade, it must be discarded.
An object of the present invention is the provision of a novel drywall cutting tool wherein the blade is provided with a sharpened penetrating tip and a sharpened edge along one longitudinal edge of the blade, and is provided with teeth or serrations along the opposite longitudinal edge, to facilitate either cutting or sawing, and wherein a finger guard loop is provided on the handle to assist in pulling the tool while cutting and to minimize slipping of the user's hand during use.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a drywall cutting tool as described in the immediately preceding paragraph, wherein the blade is a short blade of about 4 inches length protruding from a handle, designed to resist bending during use and prevent the user from piercing drywall which may be located behind the dry wall being cut.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a drywall cutting tool as described in either of the two immediately preceding paragraphs, wherein the diameter of the handle is larger than conventional drywall cutting tool handles to provide for a better grip, the top of the handle is tapered on both sides to facilitate better griping, and secure gripping is also facilitated by the U-shaped finger guard formed along the handle.
In another object of the present invention, the provision of a novel drywall cutting tool as described in the immediately preceding paragraphs, where in the handle is a two piece handle of separable halves which can be separated to permit removable of an old blade and insertion of the new blade into the original handle.
Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention.